The present invention relates to conventional toilet flush tanks and more particularly relates to devices placed inside such tanks to conserve the amount of water used during flushing.
In conventional flush tank constructions, the tank is designed to normally hold and release the maximum amount of water needed to evacuate the toilet under all circumstances. However, in most situations, the bowl is only slightly filled with either waste or urine and the amount of water used during flushing is excessive. A substantially smaller quantity of water would normally suffice to evacuate the bowl.
This traditional design of using the maximum amount of water stems from an era in which water was readily and cheaply available. Currently, however, certain densely populated areas or municipalities are experiencing water shortages, and others are forecasting such fates. Still others are raising the cost of water service to the public in order to increase their tax revenue.
Clearly, it would be advantageous if a simple accessory could be invented to transform standard toilets into water-saving systems wherein the accessory would enable the toilet user to easily select a full flush or partial flush of the bowl.
One problem with the needed accessory is that it has to be simple. The average homeowner is often unskilled with his hands and has a mental block against working with any device that is not the simplest of devices.
Recently, inventors have produced control devices for toilet tanks which enable a commode user to selectively release different amounts of water for flushing. Typically, the selection is achieved through utilization of means which prematurely force a buoyant outlet valve to close before the tank is completely emptied. While these known devices have been satisfactory to a limited degree, they have generally exhibited certain deficiencies which have inhibited their widespread acceptance. Primarily, they have been generally complex structures which are expensive to manufacture and difficult to retrofit onto existing commode constructions. Further, they are often built for one particular type of closure valve and are not adaptable to fit all of the various closure valves used in commode configurations.
Accordingly, it is the principal object of this invention to provide a simple clip-on attachment for toilet tanks by which even an unskilled homeowner can easily and quickly convert his toilet to a water-saving device.
It is a more specific object to provide an easy-to-install attachment which will enable a commode user to selectively choose either a full or partial flush of his toilet.
It is another object to provide a clip-on attachment which will fit or can be readily adapted to fit most, if not all, of the various types of flush tank systems.
It is a still further object to provide a clip-on attachment which can be retrofitted to toilets already in use or can be fitted to new toilets.
It is yet another object to provide a clip-on attachment, commensurate with the above-listed objects, which is simple and economical in design, yet durable and highly reliable to use.
The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.